Walking into artist Jo Petty’s Ashcroft studio is like entering an Aladdin’s cave of treasure, but with paintings taking the place of chests full of gold and jewels.
Every wall is hung with paintings large and small, representing the different styles, techniques, mediums, and subjects she has been drawn to over the years. One room has paintings stacked several deep propped against the walls; dozens in all. Her latest work in progress, which will be displayed at the Ashcroft Fine Art Show and Sale in April, sits on an easel, a palette of richly-toned homemade paints beside it.
Always keen to try new things, Petty has recently been working on wood panels using natural pigments that she mixes herself.
“I started buying paint in natural dry pigment form because I wanted to get rid of toxins,” she explains. They have to be mixed with a carrier oil, and Petty’s medium of choice is walnut oil, which was used by artists up until the Renaissance period.
“After that artists began using other oils like linseed, but over time the paint cracks. Walnut oil doesn’t crack. I’ve got to know the colours and love the richness of them.”
She also started using beeswax in her paints, after an experience in Vancouver that she believes was meant to be.
“I went to a show in Vancouver that only had one day left in it, so I was meant to see it; it wasn’t luck. The surfaces of the paintings were beautiful; I wanted to touch them. The artist was using beeswax, and for that you have to paint on wood, not canvas, because you need a substrate that doesn’t move.”
Petty ordered some wood canvases and began working with the new paints, which also prompted her to move away from brushes.
“I don’t use them anymore. I use scrapers and sticks, dental tools; I finally found a use for an old credit card. I work in layers, and carve through the layers to see what’s underneath, so it has to be on wood, otherwise I’d poke holes through the canvas.
“Then I’ll think I’m done, but I have to watch them while they dry as the paint is opaque at first, then becomes translucent. It’s very subtle, but it can lose depth as it dries. It’s a wonderful way of painting, because I can create really quickly.”
She demonstrates on the canvas that’s on the easel, using a scraper to apply the pigment. A few strokes and a figure that looks like a birch tree emerges; fitting, as birch trees have been very much on Petty’s mind lately, and figure in her latest solo show, “They Keep Showing Up,” on at Gallery 635 in Kamloops through June.
The title comes from something Petty noticed about some of her recent abstract works. They were not meant to be of anything specific, but people who saw them kept saying that they saw birch trees in the paintings.
“It was the nature of the pigments and how they were applied; people thought they were birch trees. As an artist I go into shows with some sort of theme in mind, and I told Deb who runs the gallery that I wanted to do a deep dive into some bigger paintings of birch trees.”
Petty thought the show was scheduled for September of this year, then found it was slated to start in February, which meant she had to work fast. She began reading about birch trees in preparation for her paintings, and became interested in what she learned.
“They showed up after the Ice Age, and if there’s a forest fire and their seeds are around they’re the first trees that will re-grow. They prefer soggy climates but they do grow around here; they adapt. And they’re the only tree where you can use every part of it. They’re fascinating.”
There are 22 pieces on display in the show, most of them new. “I brought a few older paintings where birch trees were showing up but weren’t meant to, but most of them are intentional, and were painted on birch panels.
“I didn’t use photos, I used my inspiration and childhood memories of Girl Guide camps amongst the birch trees. It’s been a great journey.”
Petty has been a lifelong artist, doing art all through school. She joined the Ashcroft Art Club in 1983, began showing works in 1984, and within 10 years was doing art almost full time. She and Phyllis Linklater had a gallery at Ashcroft Manor for several years, and Petty was involved in the Painted Ladies gallery in the former Masonic Lodge beside the Opera House in Ashcroft.
If you haven’t seen Petty’s work at any of those locations, or at the annual art show, you’ll still be familiar with it via the many murals that she has had a hand in creating around Ashcroft and the surrounding communities. These include murals at the Ashcroft curling rink, in the Heritage Park on Railway Avenue, the bison mural created for the film An Unfinished Life, and the paintings on the side of the Ashcroft Legion building, which she did with her son Greg. They were unveiled several years ago on June 6 to commemorate D-Day, with veterans from all around the region in attendance.
“I had never heard war stories from people who had been there, and hadn’t understood the impact war had on people. In order to do those murals I did some deep dives into history books for images, and got the tiniest glimpse into what it was like.
“It was very humbling to have all these veterans in the front row. Then we went into the Legion for lunch and we went to different tables and they told us their stories, some for the first time.”
An incident that happened during the painting of the bison mural was considerably lighter.
“We had been told to be friendly on set to anyone who came up, but I had got really deep into my work and was really concentrating on doing a bison’s muscle. A man came up and I said hi, how are you doing, you’re new in town, and he said yes. I asked if he was having a good time in Ashcroft, and he said he was. I didn’t realize until I got home that I’d been talking to [one of the movie’s stars] Morgan Freeman.”
Petty has also done murals at every school in the Gold Trail school district, and has worked extensively with children, youth, and teens over the years.
“Kids are wonderful. They’re so excited when they make a mark. I have an affinity with kids, and they do with me. The best thing I’ve done is work with kids and adults. That’s what I love about where my art has taken me.”
One of those places is Japan, where she has had several shows over the years.
“The first time I was invited to Japan it was to paint a mural. I was working on panels with high school students, and Royden’s [teacher and artist Royden Josephson] art room was near where we were working. He said ‘There are people here from Japan and they want me to go there, do you want to come?’ I said sure, then asked ‘Why are we going to Japan?’ He said ‘To paint a mural.’
“I did seven shows in Japan and have great memories from that. It wasn’t so much taking the paintings and selling them, it was the way Japanese people responded. It’s an ancient culture, and the way they honour and respond to art is different. I watched one lady who went and stood in front of each piece and waited until it ‘got’ her; then she bowed and tapped her heart.”
Right now Petty is getting ready for this year’s Ashcroft art show, and also preparing for a public “Talk and Tour” at Gallery 635 from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, which is open to anyone. She’ll be talking about the process, and individual paintings, but says she’s not sure what it will morph into.
“And I’ll keep diving into birch trees. I’m still learning, which you always should be.”
“They Keep Showing Up” will be at Gallery 635 (at 635 Victoria Street in Kamloops) through June. The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday; you can also visit them on Facebook at Gallery 635.